The BCCI on Monday (June 24) announced India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, starting on July 6 in Harare.

With senior players being rested, there was an opportunity for IPL performers including Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag and Nitish Reddy, who received their maiden India call-ups.

Shubman Gill will lead the young squad, which also includes fresh faces such as Dhruv Jurel and Tushar Deshpande. However, some prominent names failed to make the cut despite their impressive performances in the IPL 2024 season.

One among them was Varun Chakravarthy, who played a key role in KKR’s triumphant IPL 2024 campaign. The mystery spinner finished the season as the second highest wicket-taker with 21 scalps to his name from 14 innings.

After the Indian squad for the Zimbabwe tour was unveiled, Chakravarthy expressed his disappointment with a post on Instagram.

“I wish I had a paid PR agency !!!!!!,” Varun Chakravarthy wrote on his Instagram story.

Notably, Chakravarthy was rewarded with a place in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2021. However, he failed to live up to the expectations in the global tournament and hasn't played for the Indian team since.

Another KKR player who was disappointed by the snub was Harshit Rana, who impressed one and all with his exploits in the IPL 2024.

Rana returned with 19 wickets from 11 innings at an average and economy rate of 20.15 and 9.08 respectively, helping KKR win their third IPL title.

The fast bowler shared an Instagram story which stated, “Everything will come to you at the perfect time.”

India squad for Zimbabwe T20Is: Shubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande